Tin toys came into existence during the late part of the 1800’s. However, it wasn’t until much later, in both the 1940’s and the 1950’s, that tin toys really began to grow in popularity.
The original tin toys were made around 1874 in Germany. Manufacturers there made tin toys from the tin plate that was also used to create oil cans.
After WWI, Germany no longer led as the top tin toy producer. Instead, Japan took over their position and began to produce tin toys that were exported worldwide.
The United States soon got into the tin toy market when Louis Marx & Co. was founded in 1919. They first marketed only tin toys that were imported from factories that were located overseas. However, they began to grow and were soon manufacturing their own toys in an Erie, Pennsylvania factory.
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During WWII, the company began to offer supplies to the U.S. military, but it went back to created toys as soon as the war ended.
The tin toy craze was still going strong, but unfortunately it only lasted until the 1970’s, when the tin used to produced the toys was replaced with newer types of metal alloys and also plastic.
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